News is always happening at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo! From new programs and recognitions to building expansions and community events, read the lastest hospital happenings by clicking on the links below.

Ikenna (Ike) Mmeje has been named Chief Operating Officer at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center. He succeeds Joe DeSchryver who was promoted to Chief Executive Officer. Mmeje will assume his duties April 7.
In his new role Mmeje (pronounced May...

In honor of National Lung Cancer Awareness Month (November), Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center and Selma Carlson Diagnostic Center are teaming up to offer a low-dose CT scan to those individuals who may be at an increased risked of developing lun...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center was honored with an “A” grade in the Fall 2013 update to the Hospital Safety Score, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from accidents, errors, injuries and infections. The Hospital Safety Score is co...

Sierra Vista Regional has been selected for the 2013 California Excellence Award amongst all its peers and competitors by the Small Business Institute for Excellence in Commerce (SBIEC). Sierra Vista was recognized as having enhanced the commitment ...

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) recently conferred a silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence on the Intensive Care Unit at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.
The Beacon Award for Excellence — a significant milestone on ...

Sierra Vista is proud to bring the 2nd Annual San Luis Obispo County Saving Strokes event back to the local community.
Saving Strokes, a program of the American Heart/American Stroke Association, encourages stroke survivors to participate in strok...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center celebrated the professionals who have dedicated their careers to improving the health of others during National Hospital Week. Dozens of hospital employees were honored at the annual Service Awards Dinner on Tue...

The Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center Volunteer Auxiliary is celebrating National Volunteer Week by honoring a few of their own. Sierra Vista volunteer Bette Retzloff was named “Outstanding Volunteer of the Year” and volunteer Nancy Rust was cho...

Candace L. “Candy” Markwith has announced her intention to retire as Chief Executive Officer at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center effective September 15. She has been at Sierra Vista, the City’s largest private employer, since March 2005.
“Candy...

CIGNA has awarded Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center with a Center of Excellence designations for 2012. The hospital earned the designation based on its strong commitment to high quality patient care and efficiency measures that exceed nationally ...

The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons has granted a three-year accreditation with commendation to the Cancer Program at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center. The approval is given only to those facilities that have voluntarily...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center was named one of the nation’s Top Performers on Key Quality Measures by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in America. Sierra Vista was recognized by The Joint Commission fo...

The HeliStop at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has received clearance to operate. The $1.8 million aluminum landing pad was licensed for use by CalTrans on August 27, 2012 and resides atop the five-story Sierra Vista Parking Structure. Several...

Surgeons at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center now have access to the O-Arm® Multidimensional Imaging System. This non-invasive, open-air scanner has an O-shaped arm that surrounds the patient’s body while on the surgical table, providing the sur...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center today announced new features for its mobile app to further connect new and expectant mothers with health-related information. The hospital app, powered by WorldLink, is available as a free download for iPhone™, ...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®–Stroke Silver Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes Sierra Vista’s commitment and success in implementi...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has received the Get With The Guidelines®–Heart Failure Gold Quality Achievement Award from the American Heart Association. The recognition signifies that Sierra Vista has reached an aggressive goal of treating h...

Chip Visci, associate vice president for strategic communications at Cal Poly, has been elected chair of the Governing Board at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center for 2012. Visci has served on the Board for three years, the past year as secret...

Tom Jones, Regional Director of Government Relations for Pacific Gas & Electric and Patrick Vaughan, MD, a family practice physician in Morro Bay, have been elected to the Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center Governing Board.
Jones, well k...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has received the Get With The Guidelines®–Heart Failure Gold Quality Achievement Award from the American Heart Association. The recognition signifies that Sierra Vista has reached an aggressive goal of treating h...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has pledged to participate in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Partnership for Patients initiative, a new public-private collaboration between the government, hospitals and other health care prov...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval™ for its Heart Failure Program by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety in disease-spec...

Following a rigorous on-site evaluation and demonstrating compliance with nationally developed standards for stroke care, Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for certification as a Primary Str...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has become the first hospital in San Luis Obispo County to have all imaging services within the hospital accredited by the American College of Radiology (ACR). This designation follows the hospital’s most recent ...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has been awarded a bronze Organ Donation Medal of Honor. The Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services issued the award at its sixth annual National Learning Congress for the Donation...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center announced today that it has received two CIGNA quality designations and one Centers of Excellence designations for 2010. These quality designations mean that Sierra Vista has met rigorous quality criteria based o...

San Luis Obispo (September 27, 2010) – 3M today announced that Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, is a finalist in the company’s “Innovation Award” Contest. Starting today, through October 8, the community is invited to visit www.3mhaicontest.co...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in Nuclear Medicine as the result of a recent survey by the American College of Radiology (ACR). This designation is in addition to Mammography, Ultrasound, Bre...

New Teleneurology Capability Ensures Around the Clock Emergency Room Coverage for Stroke & Any Other Neurologic Emergency
One minute you’re fine and the next thing you know you’re not. Suddenly, your vision becomes blurry, you start to slur yo...

Candace L. Markwith, Chief Executive Officer at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, has been elected to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Western States Task Force. She will serve a one year term that began on July 1.
T...

Sometimes the most painful part about going to the emergency room (ER) is the wait time. Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, recently introduced a new way for patients to find out ER wait times, before they ever leave the house.
Before heading to...

Gil Stork, Ed.D., superintendent/president of Cuesta College, has been elected to the Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center Governing Board. Stork will fill the remaining term of Dave Pelham, former superintendent/president of Cuesta College, who lef...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has received the Get With The GuidelinesSM–Heart Failure Gold Performance Achievement Award and Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) Gold Performance Achievement Award from the American Heart Association. The recognitio...

Dozens of Sierra Vista employees were honored during the annual National Nurses & Hospital Week Celebration held at the hospital.
The 2010 Sierra Vista Leadership Awards went to Judy Taylor, a physical therapist and Christina Newsom, unit secre...

Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) announced today that Sierra Vista Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, Calif., has been named to the company’s 2010 Circle of Excellence.
The Circle of Excellence honors Tenet hospitals that have achieved t...

Women who undergo routine mammograms at Sierra Vista’s Selma Carlson Diagnostic Center have some of the latest in imaging quality and comfort technology available to them. Sierra Vista features the state-of-the-art Selenia™ digital mammography syst...

Tenet Healthcare, parent-corporation to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo County, is supporting the relief efforts in Haiti in many ways. Tenet donated $50,000 to the American Red Cross and launched a nationwide campaign in i...

The state-of-the-art da Vinci® Surgical System arrived today at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center for installation. Sierra Vista will be the first in San Luis Obispo County to offer robotic minimally invasive surgery. Surgeons will undergo traini...

Kristen Yetter, general manager and president of Promega Biosciences in San Luis Obispo, has been elected Chair of the Governing Board at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center for 2010. Yetter has served on the Sierra Vista Board for two years, the p...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center announced today that it has received six (6) CIGNA quality designations and one (1) Centers of Excellence designations for 2009. These quality designations mean that Sierra Vista has met rigorous quality crite...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has been selected for the 2009 Best of San Luis Obispo Award in the Hospitals category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).
The USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding l...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in Ultrasound, Breast Ultrasound and Computed Tomography as the result of a recent survey by the American College of Radiology. The accreditation gives assuranc...

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association are recognizing Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center for its performance in treating cardiac and stroke patients using the association’s Get With The GuidelinesSM program. Sierra Vista ...

The Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center Volunteer Auxiliary has new leadership. Hope Smith was elected president of the Executive Board, taking over duties from Alice York, who served as president for the last two years. Smith has been a volunteer ...

Two employees were recognized for their outstanding leadership while another was honored for 40 years of service as Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center recently recognized more than 80 employees at its annual Employee Service Awards Dinner.
The 20...

Claire Grantham, RN, infection prevention nurse at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, was one of 11 infectious disease nurses recognized nationally in the annual “Who’s Who in Infection Prevention” by Infection Control Today, a national trade pub...

A team of nurses at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center have been recognized for its multi-disciplinary approach to significantly reduce the use of foley catheters at the hospital by ADVANCE for Nurses magazine, a national nursing trade publication...

The Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center Volunteer Auxiliary needs your help. From patient and family support to informational services and clerical duties, additional volunteers are needed throughout the hospital, everyday of the week. If you’r...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center recently completed expansion of the only Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) between Santa Barbara and Salinas with the addition of six beds. The additional six beds will now provide care to 22 infants. T...

A collaboration between Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center and the Liberty Tattoo Removal Program, has received national recognition by the American Hospital Association in its publication Community Connections: Ideas & Innovations for Hos...

Vance Rodgers, MD, has been elected Chief of Staff at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center for 2009. He assumes the leadership of the nearly 350 member medical staff at the County’s largest hospital from Philip Borgardt, MD. A board certified gastro...

Maggie Cox, owner of San Luis Obispo-based advertising and public relations agency Barnett Cox & Associates, has been elected Chair of the Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center Governing Board for 2009. Cox has been on the Sierra Vista Governing ...

Physicians at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center will now be able to monitor the labor progress of their patients from home. The hospital has successfully launched a new electronic medical record and clinical documentation system in their...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has taken a leadership role in a multi-agency collaboration to establish a Memory Identification Program that integrates community and hospital resources to facilitate appropriate and timely care of patients affe...

PUBLIC INFORMATION UPDATE
As of August 20, 2010, San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department has reported 317 cases of pertussis (Whooping Cough) to the California Department of Public Health. As numbers continue to rise here,and across the s...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center and Twin Cities Community Hospital have been recognized for their dedication to patient safety after both were awarded an A grade in the Spring 2015 Hospital Safety Score, which rates how well hospitals...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, which houses the only dedicated pediatric unit in San Luis Obispo County, and Twin Cities Community Hospital are leading a community effort to provide area children struggling with hunger with a health...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center earned a Four-Star rating in the recently released Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and System (HCAHPS) Survey, the highest score among San Luis Obispo County-area hospitals.
HCAHPS is the f...

Gil Stork, Ed.D., superintendent and president of Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, has been elected Chair of the Governing Board at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center for 2015. Stork has served on the Sierra Vista Board for five years, the past ...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has been ranked as one of the best hospitals for 2013-14 in orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report. The annual U.S. News Best Hospitals rankings, now in its 24th year, recognize hospitals that excel in treat...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center was recognized with an “A” Hospital Safety Score by the Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits. The A score was awarded in the latest upda...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center was honored with an “A” Hospital Safety Score by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits. The A score was awarded in the latest update...

Each year the American Red Cross provides assistance to more than two million service members and many of our nation’s 24 million veterans. They support military families, active military members and provide emergency communications across the globe...

Last month, Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center was recognized as a Gold Level Recipient of the American Heart Association’s Fit-Friendly Worksites Recognition program. The Fit-Friendly Worksites program is a catalyst for positive change. Worksites...

Congratulations to Kathy Wyatt, Director of Food & Nutrition at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center. Out of 950 accounts throughout the country, her team has earned the Morrison National Account of the Year! In addition to the fabulous food the...

Joyce Amador was recognized by Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center on the occasion of her 50th Anniversary of service to Tenet Healthcare and its predecessor companies. The Santa Maria resident spent the first 37 years of her career at the former V...

Shannon Downing, marketing manager at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, was named Volunteer of the Month by the Central Coast Division of the American Heart Association for the month of June. Downing coordinated the first-ever “Saving Strokes” e...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center recently sponsored the Inaugural San Luis Obispo County Saving Strokes Golf Event. The event is organized through the American Stroke Association and encourages stroke survivors and their caregivers to get out an...

New, high-definition cameras are giving doctors at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo an up close and personal look at your insides.
Bryn Johnson is one of many patients to undergo a routine procedure called an endoscopy.
&quo...

Debbie Doubledee, RN was honored as Nurse of the Year at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center during the recent National Nurses’ Week celebration. Doubledee, a nurse in the short stay unit, was selected among dozens of nominations from the nursing s...

The annual Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center service awards celebration brought together more than 100 hospital employees, recognized for their dedication and outstanding leadership. The 2012 Sierra Vista Leader of the Year award went to Maria ...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center volunteer Donnie Jensen was named “Outstanding Volunteer of the Year” and volunteer Amanda Johnson was honored as “Sweetheart Volunteer of the Year” at the hospital’s 38th Annual Volunteer Awards Luncheon. The ev...

High definition television is making its way from the living room to the hospital room. Now, Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center is among the first hospitals on the Central Coast to introduce the technology as part of a new endoscope platform to he...

Tenet Healthcare Corporation [NYSE: THC] announced today that Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has been named to the company’s 2012 Circle of Excellence.
The Circle of Excellence honors Tenet hospitals that have achieved the highest levels ...

The Volunteer Auxiliary at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center recently donated $12,200 in funding and scholarships to 16 local organizations. The four largest grants included $2,000 to the Cal Poly Endowment Fund and $1500 to the Eleanor Sears Cu...

Following many months of implementing clinical quality standards, The Selma Carlson Diagnostic Center at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has been designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology (ACR). Selma...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center volunteer Marsha Carlson was named “Outstanding Volunteer of the Year” and volunteer Shirley Weitkum was honored as “Sweetheart Volunteer of the Year” at the hospital’s 37th Annual Volunteer Awards Luncheon. The ...

The annual Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center service awards celebration brought together more than 100 hospital employees, recognized for their dedication and outstanding leadership. The 2011 Sierra Vista Leader of the Year award went to Ron Ed...

For the second time in less than a year, Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has been recognized for its environmental leadership. Sierra Vista was named as Green Coast Award winner by the Pacific Coast Business Times in its April 8 edition.
Sierr...

Seeking cancer program accreditation by the Commission on Cancer, Sierra Vista has concentrated its efforts to ensure full compliance of a total of 36 commission standards. To gain approval, it must demonstrate that patients receive the following:
...

Sierra Vista’s very own “T-Rod” has been pardoned once again this Thanksgiving season. For the second year in a row, this life-sized bird has helped rally support for the San Luis Obispo County Turkey Drive. Three hundred forty turkeys were collecte...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center was recognized with a 2010 Green Award by the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce in recognition of its Going Green at Sierra Vista program. Going Green at Sierra Vista kicked off unofficially in 2008, when the e...

3M Infection Prevention announced that Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center came in a close second in the 3M “Innovation Award” contest, which invited healthcare facilities across the country to showcase original ways of improving patient care and h...

Seeking to bring additional safety to residents of San Luis Obispo County, as well as address its trauma needs, Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has plans to install a helistop on its hospital campus. Sierra Vista recently received a commitment ...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has been recognized for achievement in using evidence-based guidelines to provide the best possible care to patients through The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® p...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center employees are making sure underprivileged children in San Luis Obispo County have a new backpack for the first day of school. Employees at the hospital donated more than 60 back packs filled with school supplies ...

Sierra Vista’s daVinci Surgical Robot finally has a new name thanks to one local fourth grader. Gavin Hughes from Winifred Pifer Elementary in Paso Robles submitted the winning entry, THEO. The name is actually an acronym for Technology Had Endles...

Staff at a local hospital are dancing to their own beat, literally.
They are in the midst of creating a music video using a song composed by a band of doctors and nurses in hopes of being the next Internet sensation.
The tune is to The Beatles so...

Part of the mission of Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center is to continually improve the health of San Luis Obispo County residents. Staying true to this mission, a group of Sierra Vista employees has come together to help feed warm and nutritious ...

On Tuesday, Dr. Elaine Yin of Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center performed the hospital’s first procedure using the daVinci Surgical System — a $1.8 million robot that a physician remotely controls to perform minimally invasive surgical procedur...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center will celebrate its 50th Anniversary Sunday, December 5 from 1 to 3 p.m. in the hospital’s Auditorium. The entire community is invited to celebrate.
In particular anyone who was born at Sierra Vista is invited ba...

A local organization that helps disabled children and a hospital that donates millions of dollars in services were among the winners of the 2009 Central Coast Community Impact Awards.
Honoring recipients that give their time and resources for peop...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Central California are working together to provide children and families access to some of the world’s finest pediatric subspecialties in an environment that is close to home. Beginning in...

The first U.S. case of H1N1 flu, or swine flu, occurred in April 2009. Since then, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that as many as 1 million Americans may have been infected with H1N1 flu.
Most people infected with H1...

In what is becoming an annual tradition, Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center employees donated backpacks filled with school supplies to underprivileged children for the second consecutive year. Team One, a group of dedicated employees that plan emp...

Trauma, as many health care providers know, is a major threat to the life and long-term health of individuals in San Luis Obispo and remains the leading cause of death for people under the age of 44 across the United States. Caring for trauma patie...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center’s achievements in the area of heart care have been recognized with two 2009 Gold Performance Achievement Awards from the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines Program. Sierra Vista earned these...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center is expanding. Construction is officially underway on a new medical office building. The state-of-the-art facility will be located on-campus, adjacent to the new 523 space parking structure.
Once complete, the t...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center and San Luis Sports Therapy have collaborated to bring the ImPACT Concussion Testing Program to seven San Luis Obispo County high schools starting with the 2009-10 academic year. Dr. Otto Schueckler, a sports med...

She’s the best sandwich maker in the country, and you can find her and her delectable recipes right here at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center’s All Spice Café. Margaux Sky and her mouth-watering sandwiches gained national attention a few year...

Cigarette smoke is now a thing of the past at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center. On January 1, 2009, the entire campus became tobacco-free. As part of an official kick-off celebration to announce the new policy, Rick Ford, Director of Plant O...

In anticipation of ushering in its 50th Anniversary in 2009, Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has adopted a new logo designed to represent the hospital and the community it has served since 1959. Featuring a contemporary illustration of roll...

Joe DeSchryver, Chief Operating Officer at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has a better understanding of what a major natural disaster or terrorist attack would mean to the state of California. In November, DeSchryver spent an entire week a...

It was just another day in the emergency room for Dr. Steven Benaron. The only difference, he was on a white sandy beach surrounded by drying sea kelp and crashing waves. A few months ago, Dr. Benaron finished his call at Sierra Vista Region...

San Luis Obispo (October 24, 2008) – Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has been recognized as a UnitedHealth Premium® Surgical Spine Specialty Center. The designation is awarded based on the facility’s commitment to quality healthcare on the Cent...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center will be awarded the Organ Donation Medal of Honor, issued by the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, at the fourth annual National Learning Congress and Medal of Honor cere...

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County’s largest hospital, announced last week its intention to be smoke free beginning January 1, 2009. This means the use of all tobacco products will be banned anywhere ...

The Sierra Vista/Twin Cities Regional Heart Center at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center was recognized recently by the American Heart Association for “outstanding achievement in support of the American Heart Association’s efforts in cardiovascula...